Brown is One of Key Senate Leaders Tapped for Pivotal Bipartisan Meeting with President Obama on Energy; Brown Makes the Case that Energy Independence and Clean Energy Manufacturing Are Linked

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) attended a bipartisan meeting on energy and climate change
at the White House this morning. Following the meeting, Sen. Brown hosted a
news conference call to give an update on efforts pass clean energy legislation
and outline priorities for energy independence and clean energy manufacturing
jobs.

"At
the meeting, there was broad agreement that the U.S. must transform our energy
system. The stakes couldn't be higher - done right, a clean energy bill will be
a jobs bill. It will prevent us from replacing our dependence on foreign oil
with a dependence on Chinese-made clean energy components," Brown said. "With
the right policies, clean energy will help revitalize American manufacturing.
We must ensure that domestic manufacturers have the resources they need to make
the U.S. a global leader in clean energy manufacturing."

Brown
is working to build on Ohio's manufacturing heritage and existing supply chain
to position Ohio as the Silicon Valley of Clean Energy Manufacturing. In
Washington, he has been leading a group of senators in urging Senate leaders to
promote American manufacturing competitiveness through clean energy
legislation. On April 15, 2010, Sen. Brown led ten Senators in a letter
to Sens. Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham calling for the inclusion of
essential provisions necessary for clean energy legislation that would
strengthen American manufacturing competiveness, creates new opportunities for
clean energy jobs, and creates a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.

Although
the manufacturing sector accounts for 12 percent - $1.6 trillion - of the U.S.
gross domestic product (GDP) and nearly three-fourths of the nation's research
and development, the domestic manufacturing industry has been struggling. Since
1987, manufacturing's share of GDP has declined more than 30 percent. The
economic crisis exacerbated existing problems within the U.S. manufacturing
industry, and manufacturers continue to face a reduction in demand and a lack
of capital. Furthermore, more than 70 percent of
clean energy components are manufactured outside of the U.S.

Brown
outlined two key priorities for clean energy legislation - the establishment of
a revolving loan fund to help former auto suppliers and small- and mid-sized manufacturers
retool for clean energy production and the expansion and improvement of the
Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit.

The
Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology Act

Brown
introduced the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology
(IMPACT) Act, legislation which was included in sweeping clean energy change
legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The IMPACT Act would
help small and medium-sized manufacturers transition to the clean energy economy
by creating a $30 billion Manufacturing Revolving Loan Fund to provide
much-needed access to credit. The fund, distributed by each state, would allow
small and medium-sized manufacturers to improve energy efficiency, retool for
the clean energy industry, and expand our nation's clean energy manufacturing
operations.

The
IMPACT Act would also bolster and modernize the Hollings Manufacturing
Extension Partnership (MEP), the federal-state partnership, to include specific
supports for clean energy retooling. Brown's bill would provide the MEP
program with $1.5 billion in federal funds over five years to help
manufacturers diversify to clean energy markets and adopt innovative, energy
efficient manufacturing technologies. Under the bill, the federal share of MEP
funding would increase to 50 percent. Based on the MEP's current average cost
per consultation, the additional federal funding could enable MEP to reach at
least 10,000 additional U.S. manufacturers each year. The IMPACT Act could
potentially generate more than $100 billion in revenue for clean energy
businesses and create 680,000 direct manufacturing jobs and nearly two million
indirect jobs nationwide over five years. In May, Policy Matters Ohio released
a report showing that
the IMPACT Act could create between 41,063 and 52,214 new jobs in Ohio over ten
years.

Expansion
and Improvement of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit

The
Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (48C) was authorized in Section 1302
of the Recovery Act and requires the Secretary of Treasury to work in
consultation with the Secretary of Energy. It provides a 30 percent credit for
domestic companies for investments in new, expanded, or reequipped clean energy
manufacturing projects. The program is aimed at building capacity to meet this
new and growing source of demand. Qualifying facilities manufacture a wide
range of clean energy products, including wind turbines, solar panels, hybrid
vehicle systems, carbon capture and sequestration systems, and biofuel refinery
components, among others.

Through
"48C" in the Recovery Act, $2.3 billion in federal funds leveraged
more than $5.4 billion of private investment that supports the creation of
manufacturing jobs. The funds distributed through the first wave of funding are
estimated to create 17,000 jobs, plus an additional 41,000 jobs through
matching private investment.

Brown
introduced legislation that would extend the program and allow for grants in
lieu of tax credits. This would enable the program to reach additional
companies that would otherwise be unable to utilize the program - new companies
that do not yet have tax liabilities or companies that struggle to find credit
in today's tight financial market. Without a grant, this program is unusable
for many would-be manufacturers. Both the tax credit and grant would remain at
30 percent of the cost of the project. The bill also adjusts the selection
criteria to give higher priority to facilities that manufacture - rather than
assemble - goods and components in the U.S.

Recovery Act Investments Spur Growth in Ohio's Clean Energy Sector

Brown
is working to position Ohio as the Silicon Valley of Clean Energy
Manufacturing. Brown released a report and interactive
map detailing clean energy projects in Ohio that are funded by the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. Since the passage of that legislation
Ohio has received approximately $889,865,710 for 20 Programs overseeing 219
projects.

According
to a report released by the Council of State Governments, Ohio led the country
in the number of clean energy jobs created by the Recovery Act during the first
reporting period. Ohio is also a national leader in the number of homes
weatherized through the Home Weatherization Assistance Program.

The
Upper Scioto Valley School District has been able to embrace clean energy as a
result of federal support, becoming the first district in the country to
install commercial solar and wind equipment, powering 40 percent of the
District's needs, a move that has already begun to reap financial benefits for
Upper Scioto Valley Schools.